With Jake Long off the market, things should start to heat up with the other free agent tackles waiting to land new homes for the 2013 season.
There may also be room for another left tackle to hit the market. The Chiefs franchised Branden Albert rather than let any other teams get a shot at signing him, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to entertain offers to take him off their hands. Peter King of SI.com reports that the Chiefs will listen to any trade proposals made by others.
It would seem like a while before there’d be any movement on that front. The left tackle market is dwindling a bit, but teams still have options at free agent for tackles that would cost less than signing Albert for the long term is likely to cost. And that’s without giving up any compensation to Kansas City for the right to give Albert that contract.
The Chiefs would also likely need to be convinced that Luke Joeckel or Eric Fisher was their choice with the first overall pick because it wouldn’t do the Chiefs much good to trade away Albert and open up a big hole at left tackle. It’s easy to believe they’d be willing to consider trading Albert, but a lot would have to happen to make it seem like a likely way for things to play out.